Challenge: 50 Books discussion

I need some suggestions ... My "to read" list grows and grows. It is now a bit daunting. I try to make reading a priority and it's just not happening. I've finished 1 book this year and have been 165 pages into Slaughterhouse 5 since January. Now, I'd love to know how some of you do it! I don't have kids or anything that crazy to juggle, I just get caught up in other things (that are not nearly as satisfying). I think my struggles boil down to 2 major problems:

Problem 1 - My boyfriend is not a reader (he's a gamer) and I try to get some done while he is playing games, but I usually end up napping or cleaning something.

Problem 2 - because I don't read the books I am involved with for long periods of time, I have trouble connecting to the characters or even remembering what happened the last time I sat down.

Any suggestions would help me tremendously!

I take the book I'm reading with me wherever I go, you can read in a waiting room, on the bus, I read while waiting for my kids at school. I go to bed a bit earlier than my hubby so I can get some reading time in and while I'm on the treadmill, I have my book in front of me. But I get the most reading done on holidays, sitting on the beach :)

I try to make my own time to read and set it down as a law. Evert week. My time. You need to relax you mind before u start to read . Meditate

You can visit the library or go there more often to read the books and whenever you are there an inspiration to read comes naturally. At least it works with me.

Great ideas Yvonne, Lei, and Desa. I also read while eating lunch at work and while brushing my teeth at night.

I get a lot of "reading" done by listening to audiobooks while I drive to work. Sometimes I will also listen while doing housework. Twitter and other sites can draw me away from reading, so I have to make a conscious effort to read instead of going online.

If you're one who plans your day in the morning, maybe you can pencil in some reading time, kind of like making an appointment or setting aside time to work out, etc.

Just some other thoughts.

Juli

I gave up Facebook for Lent, so I spent most of my idle time reading. I also started to ride the train to and from work, which gave me more reading time. Also, I didn't succumb to the pressure of watching all these "fabulous" tv shows. I would have spent most of my nights on Netflix watching Orange is the new black or house of cards instead of reading. Having a book nearby fuels your desire/passion to read.

Oh, one more thought. If you're not enjoying a book, abandon it and try something else. It's hard to read something you're having to slog your way through.

Juli

Good for you Jaja!!!

Thank you everyone!! I have a lot of great ideas on how to recommit to my challenge. I get stuck on Pinterest and Netflix more often than I'd like to admit, the struggle is real. Ha!

One last question: Do you often have more than one book at a time or do you find you're most successful reading one at a time? I assume audiobooks answer this question.

I tend to read more than one book. I do audio when either driving or housework and when I'm on the treadmill or elliptical I read my book. It helps me to mix it up like a romance on audio and maybe a mystery or thriller for a book. It keeps my interest best when the book is interesting. So if it doesn't do it for you. You need to get the books that keeps your interest and that's how you'll stay on track. I hope this helps.

I usually read one book at a time. I've kind of slacked off on reading this year. I've watched so much tv this year. Spent a lot of time catching up on shows or watching ones everyone else has.

Now I am bored with TV, and trying really hard to read.

I usually try and read series when I am in a book slump. Sometimes it helps because they catch on faster than novels and then if you manage to finish it, you want to start the next one to see what happens.

But I understand your situation, I too am trying to find a way to read more. I literally have nothing stopping me, but I somehow can't get motivated enough to read anything.

Also on the part about you take so long that you kind of forget characters and what happened last, just read a little at a time.

If a big issue is trying to read a book in one sitting or over just a few days, don't try to read that much. Read between 20-50 pages every day or every other day until you are done. It makes sure the story stays fresh because you haven't completely abandoned it, but you also don't have to feel like you have to read so much.

And if you don't like the book, just don't read it. You can get hung up on trying to finish a book you don't like, that you just don't want to read.

Oh man, another great piece of advice is ... reach out to those in your Goodreads Groups! This has been helpful, I guess I thought I was the only one who struggled. I have gotten some great ideas here and actually made some progress on reading over the last few days. I'm motivated to change some of life around and prioritize reading again!

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Next time I won't be so shy about posting. Happy reading!